Etymologically
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don

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɔ̃/[1]

Forms

don m (plural dons)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French don, inherited from Latin dōnum (“act of giving; gift, present, offering”).[2][3][1][4] The Latin noun is derived from dō (“to give”), the source of date and datif.[3] Littré compares Ancient Greek δῶρον (dôron, “gift”).[5]

Cognate with Italian dono, Old Occitan do, Spanish don and Portuguese dom.[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in the Passion de Clermont (second half of the 10th century), is the phrase faire don, to give something freely to someone.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

By metonymy it named the thing given, first concretely in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), then abstractly (about 1130) one's lot or fate, in bad or, more often, in good part, as a blessing or favour of heaven: don de Dieu in Oresme (1370–72).[2][3] In the 16th century it took the sense of an innate gift or aptitude, as in Amyot's don de prophétie, especially in religious contexts and in fairy tales; in that sense it corresponds to doué.[2][3] The DHLF notes that don generally works as a noun derived from donner.[3]

Timeline

  • Second half of the 10th century – Faire don in the Passion de Clermont.[2]
  • c. 1100 – “Thing given” in the Chanson de Roland.[2][7]
  • c. 1130 – “Lot, fate”.[2][3]
  • c. 1283 – Beaumanoir uses it in the legal sense of a gift.[7]
  • 1370–72 – Don de Dieu in Oresme.[2]
  • 16th century – “Innate gift”, don de prophétie in Amyot.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of giving something freely; a donation: faire don de quelque chose, le don du sang.[8][1]
  2. A thing given, a gift or present.[8][1]
  3. Le don de soi: self-sacrifice, devotion.[8][7]
  4. An innate talent or knack: avoir un don pour la musique, (ironic) il a le don de m'agacer.[8][1]
  5. Don du ciel: a godsend.[1]

Usage notes

Don is also a Spanish title of honour placed before a first name (Don Juan, Don Quichotte), recorded in French from the early 16th century; it was borrowed from Spanish don, from Latin dominus (“master”), and the Grand Robert and Petit Robert give it a numbered entry of its own.[9][8][10] In the 16th and 17th centuries it was sometimes written dom, after the monastic title.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 138b
  5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France